Delhi: 2 Held From Punjab For Defacing Delhi Metro Stations With Pro-Khalistan Slogans

Delhi Police Special Cell arrested one accused and detained another after pro-Khalistani slogans were seen written on some of the metro stations in Delhi.

Delhi Police Special Cell arrested one accused from Punjab and detained another after pro-Khalistani slogans were seen written on some of the metro stations in Delhi. The accused are being interrogated. More than five metro stations in the national capital were defaced with anti-India slogans, believed to have been done by the pro-Khalistan proscribed outfit, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). Earlier on Sunday, the police said that legal action will be taken against the act. 

The Delhi Police released CCTV foootage showing some people paintaing pro-Khalistan graffiti and slogans on the walls of metro stations in Delhi on August 27. 

The police also said that the members of the group were present at multiple metro stations in the city from Shivaji Park to Punjabi Bagh, as per news agency ANI. “Modi India committed genocide of Sikhs”, “Delhi Bannyga Khalistan” (Delhi will become Khalistan), and “Khalistan Referendum Zindabad” were some of the slogans that appeared on the metro stations in the city. 

An FIR was registered in connection with the matter under Section 153 A, Section 505, and Defacement Act, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Metro, Ram Gopal Naik. The incident comes just weeks ahead of the G20 Summit that is going to take place in Delhi on September 9 and 10. Later, the Delhi Police removed the slogans from the walls of the metro stations.  

In June this year, similar slogans were seen written on the walls of  a Session Judge's residence in Punjab's Faridkot. A video was pointed out by Superintendent of Police Avneet Kaur Sidhu pertaining to the matter released by SFJ general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. 

On May 8, ‘Khalistan’ flags were found tied on the main gate of Himachal Pradesh Assembly complex and Pannun was booked as the main accused in the case. An FIR was registered against him  sections 153-A and 153-B of Indian Penal Code, section 3 of HP Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1985, and section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) at Dharamshala Police station 

The US-based Sikhs For Justice, formed in 2017, is a separatist group that demands a separate land for Sikhs — Khalistan — in Punjab. The group launched a secessionist Sikh Referendum 2020 campaign to “liberate Punjab from Indian occupation”, as per an Indian Express report.